Method and Apparatus for Device Detection and Detection Management within a Vehicle

ABSTRACT

A vehicle system is provided. The vehicle system may include a processor configured to detect a wireless device based on a received device signal when a vehicle is at an origin location, add the detected device to a tracking list, register a trigger event away from the origin location, and, responsive to detection of the trigger event, attempt to detect devices on the tracking list. The processor may be further configured to report, to a vehicle occupant, all devices on the tracking list not detected by the attempt. The received device signal may be from a radio-frequency identification sensor. The received device signal may transfer to the processor via Wi-Fi. The received device signal may transfer to the processor via BLUETOOTH. The trigger event may be a vehicle start-up.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The illustrative embodiments generally relate to methods and apparatusesfor detecting devices within a vehicle and managing responses fordifferent types of detection.

BACKGROUND

Vehicle drivers and passengers typically travel with at least oneelectronic device such as a cellular phone or tablet. These electronicdevices may be left or forgotten at a location prior to entering avehicle. For example, if a driver typically carries a cellular device ina purse or bag, the driver may not notice whether the cellular device ispresent within the purse or bag upon entering the vehicle.

People often also leave their devices at away-from-home locations, suchas at restaurants, the office, a store, etc. If a device was used atsuch a location, and then set down, the person may not realize they haveleft the device behind. Further, if a journey included many stops, theperson may not even realize where the device was left if the devicelater turns up missing.

SUMMARY

A vehicle system includes a processor configured to detect a wirelessdevice based on a received device signal when a vehicle is at an originlocation, add the detected device to a tracking list, register a triggerevent away from the origin location, and, responsive to detection of thetrigger event, attempt to detect devices on the tracking list. Theprocessor is further configured to report, to a vehicle occupant, alldevices on the tracking list not detected by the attempt. The receiveddevice signal may be from a radio-frequency identification sensor. Thereceived device signal may transfer to the processor via Wi-Fi. Thereceived device signal may transfer to the processor via BLUETOOTH. Thetrigger event may be a vehicle start-up. The trigger event may be anopen or close of a vehicle door. The tracking list may include at leastone device not detected during the detecting at the origin location, butbeing detected at previous times, at the origin location, more than apredefined threshold number of times. The tracking list may include atleast one device not detected during the detecting at the originlocation but designated by the vehicle occupant as being present.

A method includes, responsive to a detected trigger event and a devicetracking list including at least one device, attempting to communicatewith all devices on the tracking list via vehicle wirelesscommunication, and reporting, to a vehicle occupant, all devices on thetracking list for which communication was unavailable via the vehiclewireless communication. The wireless communication may be viaradio-frequency identification. The wireless communication may be viaWi-Fi. The wireless communication may be via BLUETOOTH. The detectedtrigger event may be a vehicle state change component and a vehiclelocation component. The vehicle location component may be a vehiclelocation other than a predefined origin location. Different devices onthe tracking list may have different origin locations associatedtherewith. The vehicle location component for detecting a given devicemay be the predefined origin location associated with a respectivedevice. The trigger event may be a vehicle start-up as the vehicle statechange component. The trigger event may be an opening or closing of adoor.

A vehicle system includes a processor configured to detect a firsttrigger event indicating passenger pickup, to detect a previouslyundetected wireless device based on a received device signal within apredefined time-period of the first trigger event and associate thepreviously undetected device with the picked-up passenger, to detect asecond trigger event indicating the picked-up passenger has left thevehicle, and responsive to detection of the second trigger event, tooutput a notification signal when a device, associated with thepassenger, is detected within the vehicle. The first trigger event mayinclude one of a door opening, a door closing, or a seat sensorindicating presence of the passenger, coupled with a pickup requestidentifying the passenger and a vehicle GPS location corresponding tothe pickup request. The second trigger event may be one of a dooropening and subsequently closing, coupled with a drop-off requestidentifying the passenger and a vehicle GPS location corresponding tothe drop-off request.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a vehiclecomputing system;

FIG. 2 is a flow chart illustrating an example of an auto-enrollmentmanagement process;

FIG. 3 is a flow chart illustrating an example of a manual-enrollmentmanagement process;

FIG. 4 is a flow chart illustrating an example of a notificationmanagement process; and

FIG. 5 is a flow chart illustrating an example of a passenger devicedetection and alert process.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

As required, detailed embodiments are disclosed herein; however, it isto be understood that the disclosed embodiments are merely illustrativeand may be incorporated in various and alternative forms. The figuresare not necessarily to scale; some features may be exaggerated orminimized to show details of particular components. Therefore, specificstructural and functional details disclosed herein are not to beinterpreted as limiting, but merely as a representative basis forteaching one skilled in the art to variously employ the claimed subjectmatter.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a vehicle-basedcomputing system (VCS) 10 for a vehicle 12. One example of such a VCS 10is a system referred to as SYNC and manufactured by THE FORD MOTORCOMPANY. The vehicle 12 may include a vehicle cabin interface 14 locatedin a cabin of the vehicle 12 for a user to interact with the VCS 10. Theinterface 14 may be, for example, a touchscreen display. Alternatively,the user may interact with the VCS 10 through button presses to amechanical interface, through a spoken dialog system with automaticspeech recognition, or through speech synthesis.

A controller, such as a central processing unit (CPU) 16, may executeonboard processing of commands and routines to control portions of VCS10 operation. The CPU 16 may include programming to direct operation ofcomponents of the vehicle 12 and to facilitate interaction with vehicle12 passengers. The CPU 16 may be referred to as a processor or acontroller and may include, for example, an arithmetic logic unit, acontrol unit, a cache, at least one processor, and one or moretransistors. Further, the CPU 16 may be connected to one or both of anon-persistent storage 18 and a persistent storage 20. Thenon-persistent storage 18 may be, for example, a random-access memory(RAM) and the persistent storage 20 may be, for example a hard diskdrive (HDD) or flash memory. In general, persistent (non-transitory)memory may include all forms of memory that maintain data when acomputer or other device is powered down. These include, but are notlimited to, HDDs, CDs, DVDs, magnetic tapes, solid state drives,portable USB drives, and any other suitable form of persistent memory.

The vehicle 12 may also include one or more inputs 23 to facilitate userand vehicle 12 interaction with one or more devices. The one or moreinputs 23 may be configured to accommodate connection to the one or moredevices such as, for example, a microphone, an auxiliary device, a USBdevice, a GPS device, the interface 14, and a BLUETOOTH device.

The vehicle 12 may include one or more sensors 24 in communication withthe CPU 16 to detect a presence of the one or more devices within thevehicle 12. Examples of the one or more sensors include a BLUETOOTHsensor and a radio-frequency identification (RFID) sensor. It iscontemplated that a type of sensor may be selected to detect the one ormore devices when in a power on status and when in a power off status.The CPU 16 may include programming and/or a control strategy to output anotification to a passenger based on whether the one or more sensors 24detects one of the one or more devices as further described herein.

An input selector 36 may be in communication with the CPU 16 andfacilitate user transition between the one or more devices connected viathe one or more inputs 23. Where necessary, device input signals fromthe one or more inputs 23 may be converted from analog to digital by aconverter 38 before being passed to the CPU 16.

Outputs to passengers of the vehicle 12 may include, but are not limitedto, a visual display on the interface 14 and an audio output to aspeaker 40. The speaker 40 is connected to an amplifier 42 and receivesinstructions via signals from the CPU 16 through a digital-to-analog(D/A) converter 44. Outputs from the CPU 16 may also be transmitted tothe one or more devices in communication with the CPU 16 via the one ormore inputs 23 or via a wireless communication.

In one example, the VCS 10 may use a BLUETOOTH device in communicationwith the CPU 16 via one of the one or more inputs 23 to communicate witha user's nomadic device (ND) 58 (e.g., cell phone, smart phone, PDA, orany other device having wireless remote network connectivity). The ND 58may communicate with a network 60 external to the vehicle 12 via one ormore connections to an antenna 62. The vehicle 12 may include atransceiver unit 63 to facilitate communication between the CPU 16 and asource external the vehicle 12, such as the network 60 via the antenna62. In another example, the ND 58 may communicate with the network 60via a Wi-Fi access point. In yet another example, the ND 58 may bepaired with the vehicle 12 via a BLUETOOTH connection or otherconnection.

Pairing the ND 58 with a transceiver, such as a BLUETOOTH transceiver incommunication with the CPU 16, may be instructed through a button orsimilar input. Accordingly, the CPU 16 may be instructed that theonboard BLUETOOTH transceiver will be paired with a BLUETOOTHtransceiver in the ND 58.

Data may be communicated between the CPU 16 and the network 60 byutilizing, for example, a data-plan, data over voice, or dual-tonemulti-frequency (DTMF) tones associated with the ND 58. Alternatively,it may be desirable to include a modem on board the vehicle 12 in orderto communicate data between the CPU 16 and the network 60. The ND 58 maythen be used to communicate with the network 60 through, for example,communication with the antenna 62. In some embodiments, the modem mayestablish communication with the antenna 62 for communicating with thenetwork 60. The modem may be, for example, a USB cellular modem and thecommunication may be, for example, cellular communication.

The CPU 16 may include an operating system having an applicationprogramming interface (API) to communicate with modem applicationsoftware to access an embedded module or firmware to complete wirelesscommunication with, for example, a remote BLUETOOTH transceiver (whichmay be included in the ND 58). Bluetooth is a subset of the IEEE 802 PAN(personal area network) protocols. IEEE 802 LAN (local area network)protocols include Wi-Fi and have cross-functionality with IEEE 802 PAN.Both are suitable for wireless communication within a vehicle. Anothercommunication means that may be used in this realm is free-space opticalcommunication (such as IrDA) and non-standardized consumer IR protocols.

Additional sources that may interface with the vehicle 12 via the CPU 16include a personal navigation device, a vehicle navigation device, anonboard GPS device, or remote navigation system having connectivity tothe network 60.

Further, the CPU 16 may be in communication with a variety of otherdevices. These devices may be connected through a wireless or wiredconnection. Examples of the devices include personal media players,wireless health devices, portable computers, and the like. The CPU 16may connect with a vehicle router 70 to, for example, connect to remotenetworks in range of the router 70.

The CPU 16 may include programming to direct execution of one or morecontrol strategies to identify whether a particular device is present inthe vehicle 12 at an associated location and to notify a vehiclepassenger of whether the particular device is present or not present.For example, the CPU 16 may include programming relating to anauto-enrollment management control strategy, a manual enrollmentmanagement control strategy, and a notification management controlstrategy as further described herein.

The CPU 16 may include programming to create one or more notificationlists relating to detected conditions, such as the associated location,of one or more electronic devices. In one example, the CPU 16 mayinclude programming to associate numerical values with the one or moreelectronic devices based on conditions detected within the vehicle 12and further to notify vehicle 12 passengers whether the one or moreelectronic devices are present within the vehicle 12 based on thenumerical values and the conditions.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example of an auto-enrollment management controlstrategy, referred to generally as a control strategy 200 herein. Inthis example, the control strategy 200 operates to identify electronicdevices present in a vehicle at an associated location and to identifywhether a particular device should be enrolled on a “Notify List.” TheNotify List may be a list of devices reflecting devices for which anotification may be output to a vehicle passenger when the particulardevice is detected within the vehicle at an associated location ordetected as missing from the vehicle.

Alternatively, the control strategy 200 may operate to receive a sensorsignal reflective of whether one or more electronic devices is detectedin the vehicle at the associated location to define a “PotentiallyExpected List.” The processor may then track the detections over apredetermined time-period and update the Potentially Expected List todefine an “Expected List” of the devices and associated vehiclelocations in which the devices should be present within the vehicle. Inone example, the predetermined time-period may be a time-period betweenone and two weeks. Devices on the Expected List may includecharacteristics similar to the devices included on the Notify List.

For example, if the vehicle is at a home location, a vehicle system ofthe vehicle may detect any devices that are within the vehicle upon avehicle start-up. This may include active detection (e.g., BLUETOOTH)and passive detection (e.g., RFID from the vehicle to a device in apower off status). The detected devices may then make up the NotifyList, reflecting all devices detected as being present with the vehiclepassenger within the vehicle. Additionally, under certain circumstances,the Expected List may include devices that are historically present.This feature may be useful if a particular device lacks a passive IDmethod (e.g., no RFID functionality), but is also commonly present witha vehicle passenger based on historic observation. For example, aprimary cell phone may be on such a list and thus, even if the cellphone is in a power off status or the cell phone is not present, thevehicle may treat the phone as present for illustrative inquiries andthe like. While this feature may result in a minor number of falsepositives, this feature may also improve left-behind device preventionand optionally may be disabled by the vehicle occupant.

Operation of the control strategy 200 may be triggered periodically atpredetermined time intervals, by occurrence of a predeterminedtriggering event, or by detection of predetermined conditions. Thecontrol strategy 200 may operate such that the processor learns whichelectronic devices to include on the Notify List over a time-periodand/or with passenger input as further described herein.

In operation 204, a component of a vehicle system, such as the CPU 16 ofthe VCS 10, may initiate an electronic device detection process. Forexample, a processor, such as a processor of the CPU 16, may activate asensor, such as the one or more sensors 24, or a device detection unitto detect whether one or more electronic devices are present in avehicle and categorize the detected one or more electronic devices on a“Device Present List.” In another example, the processor may identifywhether any electronic devices are connected via vehicle inputs, such asthe one or more inputs 23.

The processor may also detect whether any electronic devices are linkedto the vehicle via, for example, a USB, Wi-Fi, or BLUETOOTH connection.Examples of the one or more electronic devices may include a mobilephone, a tablet, a laptop, or other similar devices. The initiation ofthe electronic device detection process may be triggered by occurrenceof an event or condition, such as a vehicle start-up or identificationof a particular vehicle location, such as a passenger's home.Additionally, the processor may connect with a global positioning unitof the vehicle system to identify the particular vehicle location.

In operation 208, the processor may flag any of the one or moreelectronic devices included on a “Forget List” and not available as“Forgotten.” The Forget List may include a list of devices that havebeen previously identified as a device the processor should not look foror should not output a notification relating to detection. A deviceflagged as Forgotten may be excluded from future status lists output tothe passenger. The passenger may identify whether a device should beflagged as Forgotten via a cabin interface, such as the interface 14.For example, the passenger may confirm whether the device should beincluded on the Notify List or whether the device should be removed fromthe Notify List and flagged as Forgotten.

In operation 210 the processor may check the vehicle system to identifywhether a triggering event is detected. Examples of the triggering eventinclude a vehicle start-up, a vehicle stop condition over apredetermined time-period, a gear shift from PARK, or a vehicle stop ata particular location. It is contemplated that the processor may detectwhether multiple triggering events occur at a same time, such as avehicle start-up at a passenger's home. The processor may furtheroperate to identify a detection time-period associated with detection ofthe device and the associated vehicle location. In one example, thedetection time-period may be a time-period associated with a typicalfirst vehicle start-up of a day.

In the event the processor identifies occurrence of the predeterminedevent or condition, such as a first vehicle start-up of the day, theprocessor may remove any of the one or more electronic devices from a“Potential Forget List” that are not identified as “Connected Today” inoperation 212. The Potential Forget List may be, for example, a list ofdevices identified for the processor to potentially remove from thedetection process. The Connected Today list may be, for example, a listof devices identified as connected to the vehicle during the detectionprocess. The processor may then clear any of the one or more electronicdevices identified as Connected Today from the Potential Forget List inoperation 214.

In operation 220, the processor may increment a numerical valueassociated with a device detected during the detection process on thePotential Forget List and not identified as Connected Today by one andthen mark the same device as Connected Today.

In operation 224, the processor may move any devices included on thePotential Forget List with a numerical value greater than or equal to apredetermined threshold and not included on a Do Not Add List to theForget List. In one example, the predetermined threshold may be equal tofive. As such, any devices to which the processor has assigned anumerical value greater than or equal to five may be moved to the ForgetList so that the device is not included in future detection processesexecuted by the processor.

In operation 226, the processor may output a status of any electronicdevices detected and/or not detected during the detection process. Forexample, the processor may output audio via vehicle speakers or output alist to a display of the cabin interface indicating devices identifiedas Connected Today. In the event the processor has previously identifieda device as Connected Today and does not detect that same device duringthe detection process, the processor may output a notice to a vehiclepassenger indicating that the device is not present and may have beenforgotten by the vehicle passenger. Further, the processor may output anotice to the vehicle passenger in the event the processor haspreviously identified a device as Connected Today and does not detectthe device at the associated location.

For example, if the vehicle system detects a new device at the homelocation or another location, the vehicle system may add the device tothe Notify List. Devices which are expected at a particular location(e.g., a laptop when leaving work) may also be added to the Notify Listeven the particular device is not detected. Then, if the vehicle stopsat another location and the user exits the vehicle, then re-enters andrestarts the vehicle, the vehicle system may detect whether expecteddevices are present within the vehicle. For non-detected devices, thevehicle system may notify the vehicle passenger that the non-detecteddevice may be left behind.

In operation 228, the processor may allow a predetermined time-period topass and then execute the control strategy 200 again beginning withoperation 204. The predetermined time-period may be tunable and, in oneexample, a time-period of thirty seconds. As such, the control strategy200 may assist in identifying devices typically in the vehicle atparticular locations. Further, after an amount of time of executing thecontrol strategy 200, the processor may enroll or remove devices fromthe Notify List based on the detection occurrences.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example of a manual-enrollment management controlstrategy, referred to generally as a control strategy 300 herein. Inthis example, the control strategy 300 operates to provide a vehiclepassenger with one or more options to manually select whether to enrollor withdraw an electronic device from a device presence notificationprocess.

In operation 302, a vehicle passenger may interact with a vehicleinterface, such as the cabin interface 14, to manually identifyelectronic devices to associate with device presence notifications. Forexample, a controller may execute a device detection process, such asthe process described above, to identify electronic devices presentwithin the vehicle. The controller may then direct display of theidentified electronic devices and associated locations on a devicedetection chart via the vehicle interface. The associated locations maybe identified by the controller communicating with a global positioningunit upon detection of one of the electronic devices. The devicedetection chart may include selectable variables relating to a detectionof the electronic devices within the vehicle at the associatedlocations. Examples of the selectable variables include an identifiedtime-period, an identified device, and an identified vehicle location.As such, the passenger may, for example, manually direct the controllerto output a notification responsive to a particular device beingdetected or not detected within the vehicle at a specific time and at aspecific location.

By selecting the variables over a time-period, the passenger maymanually define a learning path for the controller to define an“Expected List” of the electronic devices based on vehicle location.From the vehicle interface, the vehicle passenger may also select amanual enrollment option from a list of choices such as the optionsillustrated in operation 306, operation 308, and operation 310 of FIG.3.

In operation 306, the passenger may manually add a newly detected deviceto a “Potential Forget List” with a numerical value of zero. Thenumerical value may be reflective of a count system in which acontroller assesses numerical values to detected devices to categorizethe devices for use with the control strategy 300. The passenger mayfurther mark the newly detected device as Connected Today.

In operation 308, the passenger may manually add a device from an“Available Device List” to the Notify List. Devices included on theAvailable Device List may be reflective of devices identified by adevice detection process such as the device detection process describedin relation to FIG. 2. The control strategy 300 may then direct outputof a notification indicating a presence of the device at a later time ifthe device is included on the Notify List and detected within thevehicle at a particular vehicle location.

For example, if the passenger may manually add a detected device to theNotify List, the vehicle interface may display selectable optionsrelating to notification in operation 310. The selectable options mayrelate to an output format (e.g. audio or visual), a type ofnotification (e.g. a notice related to a forgotten device), triggeringconditions for notification output (e.g. a vehicle start-up), and atimespan between executing the device detection process (e.g. thirtyseconds).

In operation 312, the passenger may manually identify detected devicesof which the passenger does not want to receive related notifications.For example, the passenger may manually add a detected device to a “DoNot Add List” so that the controller will not operate to output anotification indicating a presence of the device whether the device isdetected.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart illustrating an example of a notificationmanagement control strategy, referred to generally as a control strategy400 herein. In this example, the control strategy 400 may operate toidentify conditions under which to alert a vehicle passenger of whethera device is present within the vehicle under various conditions. Forexample, a controller may operate to execute operation 404 upondetection of a vehicle start-up, an open/close cycling of vehicle doors,or upon detection of a gear shift and the vehicle moving at a speedabove a predetermined threshold as further described below. Forleft-behind devices, the control strategy 400 may trigger a detectiondetermination to identify whether the device was left-behind at alocation other than where the device was first detected or expected.

For example, if the vehicle system detects a cell phone at a homelocation, the vehicle system may check for the cell phone beingleft-behind based on a vehicle start-up event at a location other thanthe home location. Additionally, if a device is added to the list basedon being expected at a certain location, the vehicle system may run thedetection at locations other than the certain location of the purposesof the left-behind determination.

In operation 404, the controller may communicate with a vehiclepositioning system to identify whether the vehicle is at a “Home”location when the vehicle is started up. The Home location may be alocation previously identified by a user and stored for access by thecontroller.

If the controller confirms that the vehicle is at the Home location (orany prespecified “origin” location where one or more devices is expectedto be added to a device list of the vehicle) in operation 404, thecontroller may initiate a detection process to identify whether anyelectronic devices are active within the vehicle in operation 406.Active devices may include any electronic device including a power onstatus. If one or more active devices is identified in operation 408,the controller may add the active devices identified to a “DetectedDevice List” in operation 410.

If no active devices are identified in operation 408, or after anyactive devices are added, the controller may initiate a passive devicescan in operation 412. The passive device scan may identify deviceswithin the vehicle which may be in a power off status. For example, thecontroller may be in communication with one or more sensors to identifyelectronic devices powered off.

If the passive device scan identifies one or more devices in the vehiclein operation 414, the identified passive devices may be added to theDetected Device List in operation 416. If no devices are identifiedduring the passive device scan in operation 414, the controller mayprompt a vehicle passenger to manually identify a device in operation418. For example, the controller may output a selection menu to avehicle interface for the vehicle passenger to manually input or pair anelectronic device.

The controller may then identify whether the vehicle is in park inoperation 420 (which may also include a determination that the vehicleis away from an origin location). If the vehicle is in park, thecontroller may then direct an exit from the control strategy 400 inoperation 422. In effect, this feature may allow the control strategy400 to continue to direct a scan for new devices within the vehicleuntil the vehicle is parked away from the origin location. Thus, if anew device is powered on during vehicle movement, the control strategy400 may still operate to detect and add the device to an appropriatelist for reporting purposes.

If the vehicle is not identified as in park in operation 420, thecontroller may initiate another device detection scan in operation 424.If no devices are detection in operation 424, the controller may revertto operation 420. If new devices are detected in operation 424, thenewly detected devices may be added to the Detected Device List inoperation 426.

If the controller identifies that the vehicle is not in the Homelocation in operation 404, the controller may access a previously savedDevice List in operation 430. The previously saved Device List mayinclude a list of devices previously identified by the vehicle passengerfor inclusion in device scans. In operation 432, the controller mayinitiate an active device scan to identify whether any devices on thepreviously saved Device List are present within the vehicle.

If the results of the active device scan indicate that one or moredevices from the Device List are not present within the vehicle inoperation 434, the controller may include the missing one or moredevices on a Missing Device List in operation 436. After the controlleridentifies whether one or more devices are present in operation 434, thecontroller may then initiate a passive device scan in operation 438.

If the controller does not identify all expected devices with thepassive device scan in operation 440, the controller may update theMissing Device List to include any remaining devices from the DeviceList that are not detected within the vehicle in operation 442.

If the Missing Device List includes one or more missing devices inoperation 444, the controller may initiate a vehicle passengernotification in operation 446. For example, the controller may initiatean audio or visual output within the vehicle to alert the vehiclepassenger to whether any devices from the Device List are present ornot.

If the Missing Device List does not include any missing devices inoperation 444, the controller may exit the control strategy 400 inoperation 448. As such, the control strategy 400 may operate to assistin identifying whether electronic devices are present within a vehiclebased on a detected vehicle location. The control strategy 400 mayfurther operate to categorize detected devices in comparison to apreviously saved device list to alert a vehicle passenger regardingpresence of devices.

FIG. 5 is a flow chart illustrating an example of another notificationmanagement control strategy, referred to generally as a control strategy500 herein. In this example, the control strategy 500 may operate toidentify conditions under which to alert a vehicle passenger of whethera device is present within the vehicle under various conditions such asride-sharing conditions or autonomous vehicle conditions.

The control strategy 500 may be initiated by a controller upon detectionof a vehicle passenger pickup in operation 504. For example, thecontroller may be in communication with one or more sensors to detect apassenger pickup based on a first trigger event identified by anoccupant classification system. Trigger events identified by theoccupant classification system may include a non-driver door opening, aweight increase detected in a non-driver seat by a seat sensor, or animage of the passenger in a non-driver seat as captured by a camera. Thecontroller may then execute a device scan in operation 506. The devicescan may be an active scan or a passive scan to identify devices withinthe vehicle regardless of operating status.

In effect, the pickup of the vehicle passenger is treated asconceptually being the home location for that particular passenger,which is when a device tracking list may be assembled for thatpassenger.

In operation 508, the controller may add any devices detected inoperation 506 to a Newly Detected Device List. The controller may thenassociate the newly detected device with the identified passenger pickupin operation 510. For example, the controller may associate thepassenger pickup in operation 504, such as a passenger door opening,with the device newly detected in operation 510.

If a passenger drop-off is detected based on a second trigger event inoperation 512, the controller may then identify the departing passengerin operation 514. Examples of the second trigger event include anon-driver door opening, a non-driver door closing, or a seat sensorindicating the passenger is no longer positioned in a seat. Thecontroller may access the previously saved passenger to deviceassociation to identify which passenger left the vehicle and whichdevice should have left the vehicle with the passenger. In operation516, the controller may initiate another device scan to identify deviceswithin the vehicle.

If no device belonging to the departing passenger is identified inoperation 518, the controller may then exit the control strategy 500 inoperation 520. If one or more devices are identified in operation 518,the controller may output an alert to the vehicle passenger in operation522. For example, the controller may direct an output of an audio orvisual alert (external to the vehicle and noticeable by the departedpassenger) to the vehicle passenger indicating whether any devicespreviously detected are no longer in the vehicle. As another example,the controller may initiate output of an alert to the device previouslydetected in the vehicle but no longer in the vehicle in operation 524.As yet another example, the controller may initiate output of an alertto the vehicle in operation 526.

As such, the control strategy 500 may operate to identify whether one ormore new passengers is picked up by a vehicle and to associate newlydetected devices with a particular new passenger to output alertsrelating to a device presence status.

While exemplary embodiments are described above, it is not intended thatthese embodiments describe all possible forms of the invention. Rather,the words used in the specification are words of description rather thanlimitation, and it is understood that various changes may be madewithout departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.Additionally, the features of various implementing embodiments may becombined in logical manners to produce situationally suitable variationsof embodiments described herein.

1. A system for a vehicle comprising: a processor configured to:responsive to verifying the vehicle is located at a predefined originallocation via a vehicle positioning controller, activate an active devicescan to detect a first wireless device based on a received devicesignal; add the first wireless device to a tracking list; activate apassive device scan to detect a presence of a second wireless devicewhich is powered off and undetectable by the active device scan; add thesecond device to the tracking list; responsive to a user inputindicative of a trigger event, register the trigger event; responsive todetection of the trigger event, verify a vehicle location via thevehicle positioning controller; responsive to verifying the vehiclelocation being away from the original location, attempt to detectdevices on the tracking list; responsive to failing to detect one ormore devices on the tracking list, add the one or more devices to amissing device list; and notify a vehicle occupant of the one or moredevices in the missing device list to a vehicle user.
 2. The system ofclaim 1, wherein the passive device scan is performed using aradio-frequency identification sensor.
 3. The system of claim 1, whereinthe received device signal of the active device scan transfers to theprocessor via Wi-Fi.
 4. The system of claim 1, wherein the receiveddevice signal of the active device scan transfers to the processor viaBLUETOOTH.
 5. The system of claim 1, wherein the trigger event is avehicle start-up.
 6. The system of claim 1, wherein the trigger event isan open or close of a vehicle door.
 7. The system of claim 1, whereinthe tracking list includes at least one device not detected during thedetecting at the origin location, but being detected at previous times,at the origin location, more than a predefined threshold number oftimes.
 8. The system of claim 1, wherein the tracking list includes atleast one device not detected during the detecting at the originlocation but designated by the vehicle occupant as being present throughmanual input.
 9. A method for a vehicle, comprising: responsive toverifying the vehicle is located at a predefined original location via avehicle positioning controller, activating an active device scan todetect a first wireless device based on a received device signal; addingthe first wireless device to a tracking list; responsive to a user inputindicative of a trigger event, registering the trigger event; responsiveto detecting the trigger event, verify a vehicle location via thevehicle positioning controller; responsive to verifying the vehiclelocation being away from the original location, attempting tocommunicate with all devices on the tracking list via vehicle wirelesscommunication; and reporting, to a vehicle occupant, all devices on thetracking list for which communication was unavailable via the vehiclewireless communication, wherein the tracking list includes at least onedevice not detected during the detecting at the origin location, butdetected at previous times, at the origin location, more than apredefined threshold number of times.
 10. The method of claim 21,wherein the wireless communication is via radio-frequencyidentification.
 11. The method of claim 9, wherein the wirelesscommunication is via Wi-Fi.
 12. The method of claim 9, wherein thewireless communication is via BLUETOOTH.
 13. The method of claim 9,wherein the detected trigger event is a vehicle state change componentand a vehicle location component.
 14. The method of claim 13, whereinthe vehicle location component includes a vehicle location other than apredefined origin location.
 15. The method of claim 14, whereindifferent devices on the tracking list have different origin locationsassociated therewith, and wherein the vehicle location component fordetecting a given device is the predefined origin location associatedwith a respective device.
 16. The method of claim 13, wherein thetrigger event is a vehicle start-up as the vehicle state changecomponent.
 17. The method of claim 13, wherein the trigger eventincludes an opening or closing of a vehicle door.
 18. A vehicle systemcomprising: a processor configured to: detect a first trigger eventindicating passenger pickup, the first trigger event including anon-driver door opening and subsequently closing, and a non-driver seatsensor detecting a presence of a passenger, coupled with a pickuprequest identifying the passenger and a vehicle GPS locationcorresponding to the pickup request; detect a previously undetectedwireless device based on a received device signal within a predefinedtime-period of the first trigger event and associate the previouslyundetected device with the picked-up passenger; detect a second triggerevent indicating the picked-up passenger has left the vehicle, thesecond trigger event including the non-driver door opening andsubsequently closing and the non-driver seat sensor detecting thepassenger has left, coupled with a drop-off request identifying thepassenger and a vehicle GPS location corresponding to the drop-offrequest; and responsive to detection of the second trigger event,outputting a notification signal when a device, associated with thepassenger, is detected within the vehicle. 19-20. (canceled)
 21. Themethod of claim 9, further comprising: activating a passive device scanto detect a presence of a second wireless device which is powered offand undetectable by the active device scan; and adding the second deviceto the tracking list.
 22. The method of claim 9, wherein the trackinglist includes at least one device not detected during the detecting atthe origin location, but being detected at previous times, at the originlocation, more than a predefined threshold number of times.